Candidate for House majority speaker Kevin McCarthy is seeing his hopes for the job dwindle. A fourth vote is ongoing for House speaker and he's already lost more than the 5 votes he can afford to sacrifice. What's worse is that one of the people who previously voted for him -- Victoria Spartz -- has changed her vote to 'present'.
Republicans tried for a recess today but Democrats wouldn't allow it.
Momentum is crucial in these votes and if the dissidents feel they can win, they might choose to send a message rather than negotiate.
Before yesterday's vote, McCarthy was a huge favorite but is now an underdog.
What Democrats are hoping for is that Republicans can't rally around one of the leading candidates and that bringing on a few Democrats is necessary, giving them more leverage on rules and committees. Alternatively, they're happy to let Republicans appear to be dysfunctional.
